With neuroscience entering a new era of mainstream investment and policy attention, Backing the Brain: Investing in the Future of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology will bring together leading scientists, investors, and entrepreneurs advancing innovation at the intersection of mind and technology. We’ll hear from Marcus Gerhardt, Co-Founder and CEO of Blackrock Neurotech, Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum, former Chief of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and Director of the Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics, and Dr. Jonathan Sporn, CEO of Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals—each offering unique perspectives on how strategic capital and cross-disciplinary collaboration can shape the future of brain science. This private salon will spotlight both the opportunities and responsibilities of funding the next generation of neurotechnologies and neuroscience-driven therapeutics.
Hosts
Diana Saville
BrainMind
Michael Brotherton
Dragonfly 44 Capital
Speakers
Co-Founder & CEO, Blackrock Neurotech
Marcus is CEO of Blackrock Neurotech. He is on the advisory board of various disruptive technology companies including fin-tech Deposit Solutions (US). Marcus has an MPhil from Oxford University and an MA from St. Andrews. He is an entrepreneur focused on innovative technologies and alternative investment markets. In 1999, Marcus helped set up his first start-up, Mondus, a pioneering e-commerce platform. Subsequently, Marcus founded BBI, which advised technology companies on funding, commercialization, and growth strategies. In 2003, he co-founded one of the leading frontier market asset managers in the Middle East. With Blackrock, he is hoping to improve the patient impact as it relates to the final frontier of the human body – the brain. He is all too aware of the limits of his own body when it comes to riding and hiking up and down the Wasatch mountains, but that does not stop him from trying to push that frontier too.
Psychiatrist-in-Chief emeritus
Director Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders, MGH
Jerry Rosenbaum, MD is the Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and served as Chief of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital for two decades, leading more than 600 clinicians and researchers. A recognized leader in mood and anxiety disorders, he has authored over 400 scientific papers and edited 20 books. Dr. Rosenbaum is Director of the Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics at MGH, where his team investigates how psychedelics alter brain function to uncover new mechanisms for treating psychiatric illness. He has received numerous honors for his contributions to research and education, including the C. Charles Burlingame Award and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In addition, he co-founded Psy Therapeutics and Sensorium Therapeutics, both dedicated to advancing novel psychiatric and neurologic therapeutics.
CEO, Gilgamesh
Jonathan Sporn, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist and seasoned biopharmaceutical executive with deep expertise in neuropsychopharmacology. He trained at Tufts, Harvard, and Massachusetts General Hospital, later joining the NIH intramural program before moving into industry roles at Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. Dr. Sporn founded Perception Neuroscience, leading it through the first exit in the psychedelic medicine space to ATAI Life Sciences, where he remains a board member and major shareholder. He is currently Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, a Y Combinator-backed company developing next-generation psychedelic therapeutics. In addition, he mentors with the NSF’s I-Corps program and has consulted in digital medicine at Click Therapeutics.
Elsie Rooftop
Our upcoming salon will be hosted at Elsie Rooftop, perched on the 25th floor at 1412 Broadway in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, just steps from Bryant Park. With sweeping skyline views and art-deco pizzazz, Elsie offers an intimate setting for conversation and connection.
